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A Walk through Penn Quarter and Chinatown

Lincoln assassination history, three great museums and a cultural escape

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Rating: 5 out of 5 by EveryTrail members

Difficulty: Easy

Length: 0.4 miles

Duration: Half day

Family Friendly

Overview :
North of the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue is Penn Quarter, a neighborhood with several of Washington D.C.'s favorite museums ... more »that partially overlaps with Chinatown. The neighborhood is currently undergoing a period of revitalization and draws many people out for entertainment and food.

It is also the central hub for many buses that go to major cities along the East Coast and where the Verizon Center, the city's sports and entertainment arena, is located.

Chinatown itself is modest when compared to many other U.S. cities and consists of only a few blocks, but pass through the neighborhood and you will find some pagoda-style roofs and authentic places to get dim sum (just look for the ducks hanging in the windows). This guide starts with some of the most well-known museums in Penn Quarter and then passes through Chinatown, making a great morning to early afternoon tour. less «

Tips:
Getting there: If taking the Metro, the Gallery Place-Chinatown stop will drop you off right in the center of this track.

Pick two... more » museums: This track passes by the Ford Theatre in addition to three museums, but unless you plan to breeze through all of them it might be best to stick to the two that sound most interesting. less «

Points of Interest

Used for stage shows beginning in the 1860s, Ford's Theatre is well known as the site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1875. After being fatally wounded, Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House where he died the next morning.

After being used as a warehouse and office building, the theater was renovated in ... More1968 and is now preserved as part of the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site. Below the theater is a collection of items related to the Lincoln and his death, including the pistol used to carry out the assassination. The box office opens as 8:30am and timed tickets are required, so be sure to get here early.
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511 10th St., NW
202-426-6924
www.fordstheatre.org
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Admission Free
Timed tickets required
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Hours
Daily 9am-5pmLess

This rowhouse across the street from Ford's Theatre is the actual site of President Abraham Lincoln's death. The government bought the house in 1896 for $30,000, and it has been a historical museum run by the National Park Service since 1933. Take a look inside and you'll see that the home has been made to look the way it was when Lincoln died ... More(although the actual items from the bedroom are now owned by the Chicago History Museum).
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516 10th St., NW
202-426-6924
www.fordstheatre.org
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Admission Free
Timed tickets required
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Hours
Daily 9am-5pmLess

Art and history lovers should stop by the National Portrait Gallery, a museum dedicated to portraying famous individual Americans through portraiture. This gallery is one of the city's gems when it comes to Smithsonian Museums that aren't located along the National Mall. The galleries reside in the Old Patent Office Building, the third oldest... More federal building in the city that was used as a hospital during the American Civil War. You'll recognize it by the marble and granite porticoes modeled after the Parthenon in Greece at the entrance.

Inside is a Hall of Presidents, plus the "Lansdowne Portrait" of George Washington, an American treasure that is so important it is said to have as much historical and cultural value as the Liberty Bell and the Declaration of Independence. Besides presidents, there are also portraits of remarkable Americans from all walks of life, including activists, actors and even villains.
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750 9th St., NW
202-633-8300
http://www.npg.si.edu/
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Admission Free
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Hours
Daily 11:30am-7pmLess

Get ready to enter a world of international espionage at the International Spy Museum, one of the most fun places to visit in Washington, D.C. Directly across from the National Portrait Gallery, this privately owned museum begins by giving visitors five minutes to memorize details of one of 16 spy profiles they are to assume as their "cover.&... Morequot; Each "cover" is then assigned a mission and throughout the museum visitors test themselves on how well they remembered the details of their spy identity.

Besides the fun of being asked by museum guides acting as police about their identity, visitors will enjoy more than 600 spy-related artifacts from the real world and in popular culture. Don't forget to stop by the gift shop, which is full of just about any spy-related memorabilia imaginable. You can also grab a bite to eat at the cafe or dine at the adjacent restaurant, Zola.
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800 F St., NW
202-633-8300
http://www.spymuseum.org
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Admission
Visitors 12-64 $18
Seniors 65+ $17
Kids 5-11 $15
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Hours
Daily 9am-7pmLess

Another favorite, the National Museum of Crime & Punishment, draws anyone interested in criminology. More than 100 interactive exhibits are inside, including a crime lab, a simulated FBI shooting range and a full-scale model police station. There are also plenty of famous relics from famous crimes, including the Volkswagen Bug that belonged to... More serial killer Ted Bundy and the stolen Ford V-8 that Bonnie and Clyde were shot up in. Other exhibits cover the D.C. sniper attacks, pirate attacks and celebrity arrests. Tickets are date and time specific, so your best bet is to either order tickets in advance online or get here early.
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575 7th St., NW
202-621-5567
http://www.crimemuseum.org
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Admission
Visitors 12-59 $18.95
Seniors 60+ $15.95
Kids 5-11 $14.95
Discounts for U.S. military and law enforcement (wit valid ID)
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Hours
Monday-Saturday 9am-8pm
Sunday 10am-7pmLess

6. Friendship Arch

After you stop by the National Museum of Crime & Punishment, walk two blocks north and look to your right. The Friendship Arch that spans H Street is the most visible landmark of Chinatown. Built in 1986, the arch is decked out in the classical art of the Ming and Qing dynasties in glittering gold and red.

Look closely and you will see four ... Morepillars and five roofs, plus 300 dragons on the 75-foot archway. The million dollar project was a collaborative effort between the Washington and Beijing governments to make D.C.'s Chinatown a visible world-class center for Asian trade.Less

Steps from the Friendship Arch, the large and imposing Tony Cheng Restaurant is the perfect place to grab a quick lunch in Chinatown. Voted one of the best bargains in the city by Washingtonian, expect the restaurant to be packed with customers around noon (but with a fast turnover, you won't have to wait long if a table is unavailable).

Create ... Moreyour own delicious Mongolian dish or try the buffet. Just be prepared for 15 percent gratuity to be added to your check automatically, no matter how large your party is. There is also a Chinese/seafood restaurant upstairs.
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619 H St., NW
202-371-8669
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Open Daily 11am - 11pmLess

8. Mary E. Surratt House

Once Mary E. Surratt's eight-room boarding house, this building is where John Wilkes Booth and his conspirators met to plan Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Later, Mary E. Surratt was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy and became the first woman executed by the U.S. federal government. Wok & Roll, the restaurant that now occupies the... More space, is another good lunch option.
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604 H St., NW
202-347-4656
www.wokandrolldc.com
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Hours
Sunday-Thursday 11am-10:30pm
Friday-Saturday 11am-1amLess

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